Happiness At Work

How To Have A Fulfilling Life

Care About Others, But Don’t Forget To Care About Yourself

Giving back is good. But, like a tired parent, even the best givers need a break. Q-Mars Imandel is an expert on investing in yourself, despite his young age (29). Although he runs The GIVE Project, a small organization in L.A. that does raw- and natural-food-related good deeds like giving the homeless fresh juice, Imandel says that by living the life you want, the life that you envisioned for yourself and feel is your destiny, you set the example and inspire others to do the same.

Imandel writes in an email, “One time I posted a YouTube video about ‘Investing in YOU,’ sharing about how important it is to not only invest in business, real estate and other financial avenues... but also to invest in YOURSELF by doing things that feel good to you and make you feel like you are caring for yourself. This could be a massage every week, going horseback riding regularly or anything that makes you feel good.”

Imandel says that by living the life you want, the life that you envisioned for yourself and feel is your destiny, you set the example and inspire others to do the same.

It makes sense: Who’d take advice, or anything else, from people who are always crabby because they spend all their time thinking of other people? Treat yourself right, and others may want to treat themselves right, too.

Change Is (Almost) Always Good

On a planet with a growing population and dwindling resources, everyone from local governments to international agencies are worrying about access to vital, life-sustaining necessities like food and water, and how to share them properly. One movement that’s been gaining traction over the past decade or so is that of rooftop farming — growing sustainable, healthy food right in the heart of the city, and selling them in large (-ish) quantities.

One of the more successful entrepreneurs who got into the rooftop gardening game in a big way is Montreal’s Mohamed Hage. The 32-year-old’s Lufa Farms opened its first commercial rooftop greenhouse in 2011 and is committed to growing urban farming as a large-scale supplement to traditional factory farming. All its food is organically grown, produced locally and pesticide-free, and uses recycled and rainwater to avoid overtaxing the city’s water system. By moving away from traditional industrial growing techniques, he says Lufa is “rethinking the food chain.”

It’s a pretty bold rethink of the way we consume, but Hage believes that’s the point: We have to adapt to changing circumstances. It’s not a new concept, but it is a powerful one if you approach it with the right frame of mind. “I think of change as evolution that we can directly affect,” he says. “I believe that we need to constantly strive to make our lives better. Every day is an opportunity to advance.”